EARTH DAY …. EARTH DAY
2010
I found out about Lisa Caprioglio at last year’s green Festival at the Convention Center.
She knows so much more than me about native plants that I saw it necessary to give her some “web space” to encourage all of us to plant more native plants…
The one thing I always remember when thinking about native plants: What was once native may not be native anymore because our environment has changed. But Lisa has got a few words to help us out.
Lisa Caprioglio, guest blogger
Celebrate Earth Day on April 22, 2010. Go out in your yard and dig up a plant! Okay, not just any plant. To be helpful, it has to be an invasive vine, flower, shrub, or tree.
Invasive species are “alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” (Presidential executive order 13112, 2/3/99)
You could put on your gloves and tear out your Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). A thorny, dense shrub with attractive green or red leaves all season long, Japanese barberry is easy to grow in a variety of conditions and pests leave it alone.
“But,” you say, “how can this be a weed? It’s pretty. Someone bought it and planted it on purpose. I see this plant all over the city.” A weed is people’s definition of a plant in a place they don’t want it. An invasive is nature’s definition of an exotic plant that out-competes native plants and destroys the ecological balance.
In its original ecosystem Japanese barberry has predators, diseases, and climate that keep it in balance with the other plants. Removed from those checks and balances in the mid-Atlantic region, Japanese barberry becomes invasive. Birds eat the berries and carry the seeds far from your garden.
Instead, consider a shrub that is native to the mid-Atlantic. Maple-leaved arrowwood (Viburnum acerifolum) grows 3-6 feet tall, has white flowers in June, berries in the fall, and autumn shades of red. It tolerates a variety of light conditions. Or, if you want a thorny shrub and have a sunny spot, try Pasture rose, Rosa carolina.
As an added incentive to do the right thing, bring your dead barberry–roots and all—to Old City Green from April 21st to April 25 and receive a 15% discount on a native replacement shrub.
Remove an invasive plant to help save your local environment.
When you’re helping to save your local environment, you’re helping to save the planet.
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Lisa Caprioglio is the Owner and Garden Designer for Aldertree Garden.
Aldertree Garden specializes in native plant design, installation, and maintenance in the Washington, DC metro area.
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